So I was driving home late last night and did probably the hardest panic stop I've done to avoid a deer..

Good News is I missed the Deer. Bad news is that The brake pedal is very mushy and the brakes almost non existent now. I parked the car and this morning I see a trail of drips leading to my parking spot, and a large puddle under the Drivers side front tire of brake fluid.

Checked the master, fluid is down to about 1/3. Refilled master, pulled the wheel expecting to easily find a leak, given the amount of fluid on the ground. But nothing, everything is dry?!? :dunno:

Had my wife pump the brakes and hold them like I was going to bleed them. Pedal slowly sinks, but I can't find a leak anywhere..

Bleed the Left Front Caliper, somehow thinking it might make a difference, but it didn't (no surprise really).

I'm stumped, any ideas before I take it to the dealer?

BimmerDude11

06-12-2018 03:01 PM

My guess would be the brake lines that go to the rear.

Under the X5 underneath the driver's door, remove the plastic cover. The lines bend from vertical to horizontal to the rear. Between there and the 1st bracket that holds the lines up water travels down this section and rusts out. If you're parked on level ground you may not notice a leak as the plastic cover can hold a lot of liquid.

I had changed the front brake hoses and that was enough of a pressure change to finally burst those rear lines. I would imagine that a panic braking could do the same thing.

Hmmm, you may be on to something there. The truck was parked facing downhill last night, so it could have run out of the plastic cover and 'landed' in the same proximity.

Afraid to ask how much/hard these are to replace, not to mention the towing bill since I'm not keen on driving it with minimal brakes..

Purplefade

06-12-2018 04:29 PM

Ran in to the same thing as Best4x4xFar, changed out my front brake hoses for braided steel lines when I did my big brake kit and burst my metal brake lines right under/at the driver side footwell under the channel cover... I remember the factory lines being hugely expensive but I was able to buy straight brake line cheap enough and re-bend my own using a radius bender from Autozone. Took me a little while for sure, probably 5+ hours end to end with bleeding but I was able to get it done with the truck on jackstands in my garage.

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Purplefade

06-12-2018 04:30 PM

LoL - minor correction there, same issue as BimmerDude11 [emoji106]

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BimmerDude11

06-12-2018 06:00 PM

Sorry I forgot that part.

I cut out the rusted section of lines. Bought a couple sections of line and some male fittings and unions. Used a bubble flare tool to redo the ends I cut on the car (this might be a tool that is rentable from an auto parts store). Put all together and then bled the brakes.

After insuring that everything was ok and no leaks, greased the lines and unions to help prevent water and rust corrosion in the future. A few hours to be sure as I'm not skilled with a bubble flare tool.

Well, that is it, al rusted to hell where it makes the 90 degree bend.. Interesting idea for the repair, I might have to try that..

andrewwynn

06-12-2018 06:41 PM

So that's exactly what happened to me check out the post I just did in the what did you do to or with your p53 today.

I bought a bubble flare tool 25 feet of line and it cost 60 bucks. I already have the first line bent. Hardest part was disconnecting the right side brake line from the backside fitting. There is no room for two hands to fit in there to disconnect the joint.

There are some problems with the bubble flare tool but I made a video describing how to fix it and make it a five star tool. Itís really easy to operate I had my 10-year-old make one of the flares just to give him some experience.

I literally have the exact same experience a panic break with a deer jumped in front of me I was not sure that I did not write that post.

You have to take out about 15-18 screws and similar amount of one use plastic rivets you poke the center in to release

amancuso

06-12-2018 07:30 PM

Just why do they rust out there? Is it because of trapped water?

Scott ZHP

06-12-2018 07:49 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Best4x4xFAR
(Post 1135861)

Well, that is it, al rusted to hell where it makes the 90 degree bend.. Interesting idea for the repair, I might have to try that..